By Kent Gray
Darren Clarke held court at a media conference on the eve of the Dubai Creek Open but it’s a private Q&A the 2011 Open champion is planning after the MENA Tour event that should really pique the interest of his young peers.
The 49-year-old European Tour star was joined at Sunday’s preview presser by defending champion Rayhan Thomas and will again have the Dubai-based amateur (as well as Swede Fredrik From) for company in the marque first round group of the $50,000, 54-holer on Monday.
Clarke admits he has “no idea” what his golf will be like when he heads off at 11.10am after putting his game on ice for the best part of two years to devote himself to the 2016 European Ryder Cup captaincy. But, as the tour’s official patron, he intends leaving a lasting legacy regardless of how he fares in his second start on the developmental circuit.
“Hopefully I’m here to play it [the tournament] pretty well but after the tournament is over, I have a Q&A with all the guys… hopefully a few will turn up and ask me some questions and if I can help them, I’m only too pleased to do so,” said the Northern Irishman.
“I’ve been on tour a very long time so I’ve probably made all the mistakes these young kids are about to make, so if I can help steer them away from those, maybe give them a couple of suggestions that will help their golf and make them better players, then I’m very, very pleased to do that.”
Clarke has a year to rekindle some of his old magic before teeing it up on the Champions Tour in the U.S. but admits a busy corporate schedule hasn’t helped lift his post Ryder Cup blues any.
Since Europe’s 17-11 loss at Hazeltine National GC last October, Clarke has missed the cut in all 12 European Tour events he’s started including Abu Dhabi, Dubai and The Open at Royal Birkdale. His stroke average is 75.57 – his best score in 23 rounds is 70 at the BMW SA Open in January – and he’s suffered the frustration of rounds of 84 and 80 at the Open de France and Scottish Open respectively, the latter leading to a premature Thursday withdrawal.
Still, he is the joint course record holder with Lee Westwood and Australia’s Benjamin Eccles at DCGYC – even if he doesn’t remember much about the round of 63 – and was joint second in his previous MENA Tour start, the 2015 Ras Al Khaimah Classic where he fired rounds of 71-66-71 to finish -8 and four shots adrift of runaway South African winner Thriston Lawrence at Tower Links.
“My own golf was on hold for the most part during those two years [but] I turned 49 a couple of weeks ago so I have a year before the Champions Tour over in America and I want to play.
“To come out here and compete against all these young kids again, there’s not many playing with as much grey hair as I’ve got this week, so to compete against these kids is great and to see the talent coming through,” Clarke said.
A 12-time winner around the world, Clarke admits the loss in Hazeltine still smarts.
“Certainly the Ryder Cup last year was very, very disappointing, to be a losing captain, that’s not why I went into it, not what I wanted to do. I mean I was annoyed about it for quite some time after losing, probably still am, but at the end of the day, did I do my best, all I possibly could to help the guys to win? I think I did but unfortunately the American guys played a little bit better, and that’s professional sport.”
